The First Billion - Softcover

Reich, Christopher

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0440234697 ISBN 13: 9780440234692

Publisher: Dell, 2003

Synopsis

Christopher Reich electrified readers with Numbered Account and The Runner, his first two international thrillers. Now the New York Times bestselling author whose work has been called "gripping" (Chicago Tribune), "chilling" (The Denver Post), "wonderful" (The New York Times Book Review), ratchets up the stakes in an ingeniously plotted story of nerve-jangling intrigue and hot-wired suspense. Using today's cutthroat global economy as a backdrop, The First Billion explodes into a breakneck tale of betrayal, revenge, and redemption...

John "Jett" Gavallan is a former fighter pilot, now the high-flying CEO of Black Jet Securities, an investment firm that earned its first billion before the techno dream crashed and burned. Poised for an offering crucial to his company's survival, Gavallan is banking on the riskiest gamble of his dazzling career. In exactly six days, he will take Mercury Broadband, Russia's leading media company, public on the New York Stock Exchange. But rumors of fraud have suddenly surfaced that could send the deal south. Gavallan makes a preemptive strike by dispatching his number-two man--fellow Desert Storm fighter pilot Grafton Byrnes--to Moscow to penetrate the shadowy Russian multinational. When Byrnes fails to return, Gavallan fears the worst. But
the truth is even more diabolical than he can imagine.

Plunging into a desperate search for his best friend, the renegade top gun is suddenly fighting a different kind of war, where there is no safe harbor and no one he can trust. Not Konstantin Kirov, the elusive head of Mercury Broadband who may not be what he seems. Not the bankers and traders Gavallan does business with every day. Not the exotic beauty who has told him all her deepest secrets--except one. Suddenly Jett finds himself trapped in a conspiracy that could shatter the delicate balance between nations--and plunge the global economy into chaos. Hunted by the F.B.I. and a band of elite killers, Jett races from Palm Beach to Zurich to Moscow in a desperate search for answers. But for this brave ex-commando haunted by visions of war, the truth comes at a terrible price. With Mercury rising and the hours ticking down, he is moving closer to a place where murder and revenge are the currency of choice...and where the first billion is the ultimate insider secret--and the deadliest obsession of all.

With breakneck plotting, stunning realism, and a sense of danger that keeps the heart racing, The First Billion is a knockout of a novel that will linger long after the final shocking twist is revealed.

About this title

Review:

Praise for Christopher Reich

The First Billion

"Engrossing ... destined a big readership in the summer's waning days."
--The Wall Street Journal

"There has been no shortage of writers aspiring to be the John Grisham of Wall Street ... Reich deserves the Grisham mantle."
--The New York Times

"Reich deftly blends Wall Street and bullet-dodging ... a fast-paced financial thriller."
--USA Today.

The Runner

"Extremely entertaining...the pace is relentless."
--Daily News (New York)

"This is thriller-writing on the grand scale."
--The Denver Post

"A wonderful novel, a sophisticated story of conspiracy, treachery
and political intrigue."
--Nelson DeMille

"Irresistible."
--The Wall Street Journal

Numbered Account

"Smart and sophisticated...Wonderfully credible."
--The New York Times

"Chilling detail, suspense and intrigue."
--The Denver Post

"Gripping."
--Chicago Tribune

"Fascinating...the tension crackles."
--People

"Fast-paced... compelling, rich with intrigue and suspense."
--San Francisco Chronicle

Book Description:

High finance and political conspiracy meet in Christopher Reich's electrifying new thriller. Using today's cut-throat global New Economy as a backdrop, THE FIRST BILLION explodes into a breakneck tale of betrayal, revenge and redemption...

About this edition

• Publisher: Dell
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0440234697
• ISBN 13: 9780440234692
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 579